141 films, half of them Spanish premieres, more than 200 guests, 21 short films, 25 concerts, 20 talks, and an edition that once again turns Mallorca into a meeting point for the very best of international cinema. From July 24 to August 2, Atlàntida Mallorca Film Fest will celebrate its 16th in-person edition, while Filmin will extend the festival online until August 24.
The festival will open with Forastera, directed by Lucía Alenyar. After emerging as one of the standout discoveries at the Toronto International Film Festival, the Mallorcan production will launch an edition with a special focus on the Islands’ filmmaking talent. The festival will close with one of the year’s most anticipated releases: El ser querido, Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s latest film, which will have its Spanish premiere in Mallorca in the presence of the director, Javier Bardem and Vicky Luengo.
Three Masters of Cinema for a landmark edition
This year, Atlàntida Mallorca Film Fest will honour three outstanding figures of contemporary cinema.
Danish actress and singer Trine Dyrholm, one of Europe’s finest performers of the last decades, will receive the Masters of Cinema Award on 28 July. Gael García Bernal will also be honoured, one of the most influential and internationally acclaimed actors in Ibero-American cinema, with a career that has left its mark on both independent cinema and Hollywood. The festival will also honour acclaimed French composer Alexandre Desplat, winner of two Academy Awards and the creator of some of the most memorable film scores of recent decades. He will receive the award during the Closing Gala.
The Opening Gala will also host the presentation of the Illa de Cinema Award to Rafael Ruiz, the artist who spent nearly fifty years hand-painting the giant movie posters that adorned Palma’s cinemas. His work became an essential part of Mallorca’s cinematic heritage and collective memory.
Javier Bardem, Rodrigo Sorogoyen, David Lowery, Judith Godrèche, John Wilson and Fernando Trueba among this year’s guests
Over the course of ten days, Mallorca will welcome some of the most exciting names in international cinema. Rodrigo Sorogoyen, Javier Bardem, Vicky Luengo, David Lowery, Fernando Trueba, Judith Godrèche, John Wilson, Molly Manners, Carlos Bardem, Maria Sødahl, Muriel d’Ansembourg, Bárbara Farré and Soyunapringada are just some of the more than 300 guests who will take part in this year’s festival.
141 films to discover
The Official Competition will feature fourteen films, eight of them making their Spanish premiere. Highlights include Charli XCX’s first leading role in Erupcja, Lady, starring Fleabag actress Sian Clifford, La educación de Jane Cumming, featuring Fiona Shaw, and the world premiere of A fuego, Estel Díaz’s debut feature and one of the most exciting new Spanish productions of the year.
Atlàntida Premiere will once again bring together some of the season’s most anticipated films, including David Lowery’s A24 production Mother Mary, starring Anne Hathaway; Memoria de Chica, Judith Godrèche’s adaptation of Annie Ernaux’s novel; Guy Ritchie’s thriller En la Zona Gris; the animated sensation Jim Queen; and La Batalla de Gaulle, one of the most ambitious European productions of recent years.
The new Trends section will showcase some of the boldest and most innovative voices in contemporary cinema with titles such as Blue Film, Barrio Triste, Nuestro héroe, Balthazar and Castration Movie, a unique twelve-hour cinematic experience presented across three days.
Arts will once again explore the relationship between cinema and culture through documentaries dedicated to Marianne Faithfull, Salman Rushdie, Milo Manara, Barbara Hammer, Annie Ernaux and John Berger, while Politics will bring together some of the season’s most thought-provoking films, many of them recognised at festivals including Sundance, Venice and Cannes.
The programme is completed by Talent Balear, celebrating the strength of filmmaking from the Balearic Islands; Classics, featuring Fernando Trueba alongside special screenings of Trainspotting and High Art; and a retrospective devoted to Theo Angelopoulos, giving audiences the chance to experience five masterpieces by the legendary Greek filmmaker on the big screen.